This article aims to examine the educational environment of the second or third generations of the more than 700,000 Japanese people who lived in Korea in 1940, and the nature of their contact with mainland Japan in search of higher education.
The target of consideration is Nagasaki prefecture, which had the largest number of people entering Korea in the first stage of the Meiji era. The subjects under consideration are the children of indigenous businessmen. I aspire to clarify their goal in studying in Japan as well as what they gained from this experience.
The results showed that, first, the number of second or third generation Japanese people living in Korea had grown to approximately one third of the total population in 1940. Second, as there were few higher education institutions in Korea, an increasing number of them strived to go to Japan to study in the mainland of the country. However, such opportunities were only available to the children of wealthy businessmen in Korea.
This article focuses on Mr. U., who attended the old junior high school in Korea and studied at a Japanese university. Along with his higher education, his entrance into a Cristian dormitory provided him with a “perspective on human and social affairs” and an “awareness of international relations”. Furthermore, he experienced a strong shock when a Korean student who advocated for independence from Japan spoke out. For Mr. U., this is something he could not have achieved during his time in Korea, which embodies the significance of studying in Japan.